DIY FRENCH CONNECTION PINEAPPLE CROP TOP

Hello my fellow DIYers! This post starts with a TJMaxx story, as all stories should begin. As many of you may know, I frequent TJMaxx like its my job. I would actually love to have TJMaxx stalking as my job, but alas that's not how the modern world works. I was shuffling through the various racks of clothes when I saw this simple, yet fresh shirt. I love pineapples, but I also love them on clothing as well so I decided "Well, I have to get this shirt now." Except when I saw the price tag, which granted TJMaxx does have great prices, but it was $20 for a plain white shirt with some pineapples on it. I was not about to fork over 3 hours of minimum wage work for one plain shirt. So I played around and I DIYed it. Here we go!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• one plain t-shirt
• paint of your choice
• one stamp pad (or I'll show you how to make one with a...FLIPFLOP!)
• exacto knife/box cutter

1. So you've got a shirt. I took mine and laid it next to an old Pacsun shirt and used the same measurements to get a nice shirt. I basically just cut the neckline a little and then I cut the bottom so the front is slightly higher than the back. 

2. Sketch out a pineapple. I doodle a lot so I had a few handy. You can also just Google "pineapple stamp" for easy results. 

3. If you've got a stamp pad, ignore this. If you don't, grab a flip flop! A cheap one from Old Navy is perfect. Just cut the heel part off (enough for your stamp) and you've got a stamp pad!

4. Trace the pineapple into the stamp pad using the knife or box cutter (which is kinda dangerous, might I add. I was so close to cutting my finger off) and then cut it out. I used heavy duty scissors for this part, but you might be able to rip it. 

5. Pour some paint out into a dish or something, dip the sponge in and then stamp! 

6. I followed the shirt and I did a row of diagonal ones and then the next row would be straight. My shirt is drying right now so I'll post a picture of it. I didn't have enough paint to do the back, but you can if you wish. I might just get some more paint and do that. 

The paint I used was the Folk Art Metallic in 662 Silver Sterling, mixed with some standard white paint since I didn't have enough! And there you have it- a $20 shirt for $5. Hope you enjoy and do this yourself! 

DIY: Front Tie Crop Top!

Hi my awesomes! What's going on? Missed you guys! Okay today I have a summertime DIY and this will work BEST with an oversized shirt but will work with a normally fitted shirt as well. It's the cute front tie crop top shirt and it's super easy. Let's hop to it!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1. A shirt (oversized preferable, but normal is fine)
2. Scissors
3. A ruler

Okay so first you'll take your shirt and fold it sideways, hot dog style as my teacher used to say. It needs to have the sleeves on each side, like a long-wise reflection if you catch my drift.
Secondly, you need to measure out a length to cut, I used 3.5 inches from the vertical seam, but mine turned out a little towards one side.
After you've cut it, you'll be left with this little bit of fabric in the middle of your shirt and you'll cut this in half to create your ties!
After you've cut them in half, put the shirt and see if you need to make any adjustments to it.
Then I cut mine further, making it high-low because the sudden height difference bothered me. Fix up any cuts, stretch the fabric where you cut and YOU'RE DONE!
See? Wasn't that easy? It makes a really cute crop top perfect for summertime with some high-waisted cutoffs. Have fun with this! Oh and the shirt I used was from Forever 21 but I got it at Crossrhodes, which is a fashion thrift shop with outrageously good prices in Evanston, IL. If you need a good thrift shop in the Chicago region, I highly recommend Crossrhodes. That's all from me, good night! XOXO